POLK COUNTY, Fla. (WTSP) -- Don't call Frostproof a one-stoplight town.
“Frostproof has two red lights, and for the most part we're known for citrus and cattle,” city council member Rodney Cannon said.
But time has taken its toll on Frostproof. Both of those industries have declined in recent years.
“The town is ready for something to be excited about,” Cannon explained.
He believes that something is steel. The largest steel maker in the United States, Nucor Corp., is planning to build a plant just outside of the city.
“It's a big deal,” Cannon said. “We have a great community that we love, and we want to share it with other people.”
Nucor is getting a big tax cut from Polk County to build the facility, which will be located on U.S. 27. It plans to bring 250 jobs with an average salary of $68,000 a year, $20,000 more than the city's average.
Frostproof is a city where the last big thing that happened was getting a grocery store about a year ago, so you can imagine how excited people are about 250 good-paying jobs.
“You didn't have a conversation with somebody in town without at least mentioning that they're coming and people are excited about it,” lifelong Frostproof resident Wesley Wise said.
People who live there are looking forward to seeing the city built on citrus grow into its new identity.
“Maybe we'll get another streetlight,” another resident, CJ Newston, joked.
Nucor hopes to have the facility open in 2020. It'll make rebar, steel bars used in construction.
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